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A police spokesman said the authorities had asked for US military intervention.

“We ask US forces to help us with aircraft and vehicles. The militants have spread out through Kut,” said Captain Majid al-Imara.

He said up to 10 policemen had been wounded in clashes in the town of Aziziya north of Kut.

In Baghdad there were clashes between Mahdi army loyalists and the pro-government Badr Brigade.

Although Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, who flew to Basra at the weekend to oversee the operation, claimed all three major factions in Basra were targeted, Sadr’s followers claimed officials were taking advantage of the movement’s seven-month cease-fire.

In a statement released in the holy city of Najaf, Sadr warned he was ready to trigger an Iraq-wide uprising.

“If the government does not respect these demands, the second step will be general civil disobedience in Baghdad and the Iraqi provinces.”

The oil-rich city of 1.7 million was sealed off to outside traffic overnight.

Mr Maliki, accompanied by his defence and interior ministers, had travelled to Basra to oversee the operation.

As government troops rolled through district strongholds, eyewitnesses reported heavy exchanges of artillery and gunfire.

The build up of the Iraqi army in the city with troops from several battalions arriving to supplement the 14th Division, which has held responsibility for Basra since late last year.

Major Holloway said the army and police force, were relying on support from British and American air power, in the battle to “cleanse” the streets of criminals.

There are 4,100 British troops at Basra airbase.

The British spokesman said that while aerial surveillance and other coalition assets were employed, no UK troops were on the ground.

American commanders in Iraq last week renewed criticism of Britain’s overwatch posture in Basra, pressing for a direct UK involvement in the Iraqi-directed operation.

Similar Iraqi security sweeps in Basra have involved British special forces as mentors.

Major-General Ali Zaidan, an Iraqi spokesman, declared the operation was likely to last several days.

“The target is to wipe out all the outlaws. There were clashes and many outlaws have been killed.”

Residents of the city described efforts to take shelter from the intense fighting. “There are clashes in the streets,” said one man.

“Bullets are coming from everywhere and we can hear the sound of rocket explosions. This has been going on since dawn.”

There was no information on the fate of a British photographer, who has been held in the city by an Iranian-backed gang since February.

Mr Maliki said the fighting was designed to restore law and order in a city that is often compared to lawless prohibition-era Chicago.

The prime minister hinted that the city had fallen prey to an outside power, a pointer towards the role of neighbouring Iran.

“This is accompanied by the smuggling of oil, weapons and drugs,” Mr Maliki said.

“The outlaws are finding support from within the state and outside. This is why Basra has become a city where civilians cannot even secure their lives and property.”